Chapter 12 #2
“Yes,” Abe replied, schooling his voice into neutrality. “I have had horses myself for a long time. Broke in more than I can count.”
“Nice. We had some growing up. Always well trained by the time we got them. Still, it’s been a while.” He glanced up at the barn. “Dylan used to have a pony and a donkey, I think.”
He nodded, not sure what to say. Was the guy mentioning Dylan to try and warn him off or to see if he was interested in his friend?
“She’s enjoyed hanging out with Stormy and Blaze.
” He didn’t mention how he’d enjoyed spending time with her too, how his every nerve lit up when she smiled, or how he couldn’t stop thinking about the way she looked when she bit her lip in thought.
Or about the fire in her voice when she talked about uncovering the truth. She burned too bright to ignore.
Nate nodded, brushing sand from his palms. “She’s good like that. Always was. Dylan’s the kind of person who steps in, whether it’s wise or not.”
That was obviously a warning. The words struck deeper than they should have. Not because they weren’t true. But because Abe had started to believe that Dylan might be the first person in a long time who saw past his spotlight-induced shadow.
He studied Nate. The guy wasn’t smug or possessive.
He didn’t seem like a man playing a game.
Just… decent. Confident. The kind of guy who’d make your sister laugh or help your mother carry groceries.
The kind of guy who wouldn’t screw it up if Dylan gave him a chance.
The kind of friend who would watch out for someone who’d been hurt before.
Which should’ve made this easier. But somehow, it made it worse.
He took a step closer. “She may seem tough on the outside, but with her history…” Nate’s eyes met his. “I don’t have to warn you to be careful with her. She’s strong enough to watch out for herself, but I will say this. You hurt her, you’ll no longer be welcome in this town.”
Abe nodded slowly.
“Well,” Nate said suddenly. He slipped his earbuds back in. “I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing. Just thought I’d say hi.”
Abe nodded. “Take care.”
He watched Nate jog away, shrinking quickly into the horizon where sky met surf.
A warning from the man was better than being told to back off because he was interested in Dylan. Wasn’t it?
Abe turned and climbed the steps slowly, each one heavier than the last.
By the time he made it back to the house, the cold turkey sandwich waiting in the fridge seemed like a joke. He grabbed a beer instead and sat down at the deck table, his eyes fixed on the gray ribbon of ocean beyond the dunes.
It wasn’t Dylan’s fault Nate made him feel like a second-string quarterback. He liked the guy even more after the warning not to hurt her. It showed that he cared. Cared in a non-sexual way. Like the brotherly way that Dylan had hinted at.
Dylan wasn’t anyone’s to claim.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
Nate was right that she could take care of herself.
But damn it… he wanted the job. Wanted to claim her as his own. There was that primordial desire flaring its evil head again.
Whatever happened now, he had two priorities: getting some answers about the night Kara died and making sure Dylan’s name was kept out of the tabloids.
If anyone found out that he was getting closer to Dylan, who she was, what she did for a living, and why they had met, well, he didn’t want to think about it. Not when his mind was filled with images of kissing her again and getting her into his bed.
He was trying to keep that from happening for a little longer. Really he was. At least until they had more answers. Until he knew that she had no doubt that he’d had nothing to do with Kara’s death.
He was fairly sure that it was more for his benefit than hers. She held her suspicions close to her chest. Hell, he hadn’t even had a clue why she was there until he’d seen her jogging that day on the beach and was positive that she had been the one who had run out of the house that night.
Half an hour later, he heard Dylan’s car drive up the gravel driveway. To his happy surprise, she carried a few boxes from the local pizza place, Baked.
“You must have read my mind,” he called out to her as she climbed the front steps. She glanced over and smiled at him as he rounded the building.
“I skipped lunch,” she said, waving the boxes.
He met her at the door and opened it for her.
“You smell like the ocean and horses.” She smiled when they stepped inside.
“I took a walk.” He shrugged. “And spent time with Stormy and Blaze.”
“Oh?” She set the boxes on the countertop. “How are they doing?”
“Great. I think I’ve finally got Blaze comfortable with a saddle.”
“It was that easy?” She frowned.
“Easy?” He shook his head. “The bruises I got this last week are proof I worked for it.” He laughed.
She opened the first box. “I hope you like meat lover’s.”
“Love it.” He pulled out two plates. “Beer?”
She nodded and he walked over to the fridge as she plated a few slices of pizza.
“We can take this out on the back deck to watch the sunset,” he suggested.
“Lead the way.” She took the plates and followed him down the hallway.
“This is Max and Juliette’s room?” she asked as they passed through.
“Yeah.” He glanced over at her. “I’d give you a tour but…”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve already been through here. Still, it was pretty dark.” She stopped and looked at the painting of the lighthouse hanging over the bed. “Nice. Looks like one of Allison Jordan’s pieces.” She squinted and nodded. “Yup, very nice.”
“There are a couple others throughout the place.” He slid open the back glass door and waited until she stepped out.
As she sat down, he watched the sunlight slide over her hair and wished desperately to touch her again.
“You have questions?” he asked, settling into the chair across from her as he took a bite of pizza.
Dylan tucked her legs beneath her and angled towards him, eyes searching his face. The sunset bathed her in gold, softening the edges of her sharp focus, but he felt the shift in her. She wasn’t here to flirt or make small talk. She was here for the truth.
“I do,” she admitted after taking a sip of beer to wash down the bite of pizza. “Are you ready?”
He nodded, bracing himself as he took another sip of beer.
“What was Kara like, growing up? Who were her friends?” she asked.
He exhaled slowly, gaze drifting to the horizon. “She had a small circle. Reba was her best friend in college. She had a few others friends from before, but Kara wasn’t the kind of person who needed a crowd. She was more… one-on-one. Quiet, but fierce once you knew her.”
Dylan nodded slowly. “And her family?”
“Complicated,” he said. “Her mom was strict, judgmental. Never approved of me or much else that Kara did. Her dad was passive. Sweet, but checked out. Kevin was… well, he was everything to her. Older. Protective to a fault. They’d argue sometimes, usually about me, or her life choices. But she loved him.”
Dylan’s expression tightened. “Did you and Kevin get along?”
Abe gave a short, humorless laugh. “At first, yes. It was one of the reasons I allowed him to stay with me for a few months. Then, after Kara and I started dating, not really. He didn’t trust me after that.
After I got the record deal, he thought that the spotlight I was about to enter would change our relationship.
I think he already thought that I had changed her when we started dating. ”
“Had you?” she asked softly.
He glanced at her. “No. If anything, she changed me.” He held back how much he’d been willing to give up for Kara. If she had asked him, he would have ripped up the contract and never recorded his first album.
A pause settled between them. The waves filled the silence for a moment before Dylan spoke again.
“That night… the night she died,” she said carefully. “Tell me about it again.”
“We went out that evening. We ate dinner at a local burger place, and we talked for a while about my music career. She was questioning if she should continue going to school. She had started nursing classes that fall to be an RN. It felt like… a reset for us. Like we’d finally stopped spinning in circles and had settled on what our future together would look like.
” He shifted slightly. “We did have a stupid argument about something.” He shook his head, trying to remember.
“I think it was my career. I wanted to hold off on going on tour until after…” He stopped and swallowed as he looked up at Dylan. “I wanted marriage. She didn’t.”
She nodded slightly. “Did you… make love that night?” Her voice was quieter now.
He shook his head slowly. “No. After dinner, she dropped me back off at my place. I’d had a couple beers and left my car at the restaurant.
” He set his fork down and met her eyes.
“She said that she was tired and had class in the morning and didn’t come in.
Besides, my roommate was there. She kissed me and told me that she was proud of me for making a choice, for sticking it out. That’s the last time I saw her.”
Dylan studied him for a long moment, her eyes narrowing slightly. Her expression shifted, harder now, more clinical. Measured.
“The police report,” she said carefully, “it said that there were signs that Kara had had sex shortly before her death.”
Abe blinked and time stopped. He felt his heart sink into his gut.